The Londonderry sifter. (South Londonderry, Vt.) 1883-19??, 1887-10-06
his acquaintance and chummed with him

was feet inches high, weighed l60
pounds, and was the strongest man /
| ever saw outside of professional
| wrestler or cannon.ball tosser. His
flesh was so hard that he could crack
walnut on his leg. On two or three oc-
! casions knew him to break the bones
in mans hand by single grip. He
took no training of any sort, but the
I strength and ruggedness were born to
him. As if not satisfied in making him
a young hercules, nature gave him the
most wonderful nerve and courage. He
once told me that he would give 500 to
| realize for FIVE minutes what fear was.
l saw him in some of the hottest places
a man could get into, and never saw
him falter or hesitate or make mistake
in doing just the right thing.
One afternoon, after we had finished
up some business in Dallas and were
\ ready to 60, we entered saloon. 1t
was full of gamblers, cowboys and rough
characters generally, and every man
wore a revolver in plain sight. We
were slipping our drink when burly, big
rlfian, who was fighter from way
back, Intentionally fell against Sloane
with considerable force, and then stood
| off and leered at him and said:
"rm waitin' fur ye to AK my parding
for that, banty."
Sloane never carried weapon of any
sort while in town. He looked the fel-
low over in cool and quiet way, and
finally asked:
'Did you intend to insult me, sir9"
'Insult yea" echoed the other. "Who
talks of insults1 Why ye little game
cock from somebody's barnyard, I'll
give ye two minits to get down on your
knees to me-"
eff you do not beg my pardon before
1 finish this glass;" replied George, ~
will make wreck Of you"
By this time every body in the saloon
had crowded around us, and it was easy
to see we had no friends there. There
was something in Sloane's eye and tone
which cautioned the big fellow, and if
left to himself he would have retired
from the scrapc But he was egged on
and braced up by the crowd who ached
to see row, and he stepped back lit
tie, drew his revolver, and growled.
'Now, banty, get down on your mar
row bones, or you'll take dose of
lead"
Sloane leaned on the bar with his el-
bow and slipped his wine slowly, paying
no further attention to any one. He was,
!, perhaps, minute and a half finishing
his glass, and during the last half min
ute he was covered by the mans re-
volver. When he set the glass down he
wiped off his mouth, returned the hand
kerchief, and then turned and advanced
upon the ruffian. The man fired point
blank at his head, cut off lock of hair,
and the bullet killed the bartender.
Before he could fire again George seized
him, one hand on his throat and the
other on his knee, lifted him high in the
air, and held him thus for ten seconds
Then he gave the body fling upon
some whiskey barrels ten feet away. 1t
was an astonishing feat Of strength, and
the silence of death fell upon the room.
When it was broken it was by man
who had tip toed over to the barrels to
look at the rufiian, and who hoarsely
whispered:
"Grcat heavens Tom is as dead as a
fshw
So he was. The iron fingers had
choked the life out of him as he was held
aloft, and when he struck the barrel al
most every bone in his body was broken.
George stood there for two long minutes,
looking from one to the other, and then
asked
'Does anybody else want me to &c
down on my knees7"
Never man replied. Never hand
} was lifted and we went slowly out and
mounted our horses and rode away un-
molested.
A month or so later we were at Waco,
and one night attended the perfor-
nance at concert hall. A roughel
crowd couldn't have been brought to-
gether. In the first five minutes OF oul
stay, saw three tumblers of beer shot
out of the hands of walters, and q hal
was knocked from the head of one Of
the stage performers by bullet.
scented row and wanted to 60, but
George asked me to wait bit. Direct
ly in front of us sat an outlaw from the
Q Indian Territory. He was in an ugly
frame of mind and anxious for blood
letting, and pretty soon he turned or
. US with:
(Which of you vermin spit on m.
hiatt"
: "Neither of us, SIR" politely an
swered my friend.
you are har!n shouted the man, a,
he rose up.
mo shooting! No shooting" called I
hundred voices, and the stage perform
d ance was suspended to see the row out
We were chock up to the side of tn
hall, with wide aisle in our front. Re
treat was cut off, while we could be ap
preached by three men abreast w
put our backs to the wall, and 1 callet
out that we were unarmed and wanted
+ fair play. Twenty people shouted bacl
s that we should have it, but in place o
g two men approaching us whole hal
It dozen jumped into the aisle.